Dashboard tire pressure gauge



Nov. 8, 193.8. o. T. NELSON DASHBOARD TIRE PRESSURE GAUGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29. @933 Patented Nov. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE nAsnnoAlm TIRE PEEssUaE GAUGE `Oscar Theodore Nelson, Cleveland, h10 Application August 29, 1933, serial No. 687,302

'zo claims. (ci. ils-s4) 'I'his invention relates to improvements in dashboard gauges for automobiles.

One object is to provide a gauge that is operated by means of a positive connection of the same to the front and rear axles of an automo- I bile or to members that are rmly connected to.v

' the axles.

Another object is to provide 'such a device that will indicate any change in the air pressure of any of thefour tires.

Another object is to provide such a device which is actuated by the deviation of an axle from level as would be causedby deated condition of l one of the tires.

Another object is to provide such a device which is actuated by a rotary movement into which the tilting movement of the shaft, due to'deflation of one of the tires, is converted.

Another object is to provide such a device in which a flexible diaphragm will be actuated Aby `the deflated condition of one of the tires andthereby a column of liquid will be actuated so as to produce an indication upon the dash board of the automobile. i

Another object is to provide such a device embodying means for 'absorbing longitudinal shock so as to prevent the same from being transmitted to the operating mechanism of the device. Another object is to provide such a device in which a column of liquid is actuated to indicate the deflated condition of a tire and in which there is embodied'means for amplifying the flow of liquid caused by movement of the diaphragm. Another object is to provide such a device'in which there is embodied an improved form of vented sight tube for the liquid-indicating means. Another object is to provide such a device in which the ow of the liquid in the sight tube may be conveniently adjusted.

Another object is to provide such a device which has operative connection with the front andrear ing-.description and claims when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 isa vertical-section of my device as appliedin Fig. 7; i Y

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the indicator on the dash board;

Fig. 3 is an end elevationv of the diaphragm casing;

Fig. 4 is a topplan view of the take-up connection between the shaft32 and screw 3|; I Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the container above 5 the sight tube; j Fig. 6 is an elevation of the hinge connection between the operating shaft 32 of my device and theaxle 51;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of an assembly ofone 10 of my devices, as illustrated partly in larger de-v tail in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of another form of assembly;

Fig. 9 illustrates another manner of relieving 15 drive shaft 32 of my device from shock; and

`as herein set forth and claimed.

The body I of my gauge is adapted to be attached to the dash board 49 o1' an automobile and has the sight tube 6 the upper end of which1 has 25 the communicating enlarged chamber 5 attached to the body I by the screws 63. The chamber 5 l will receive any liquid which might be forced thereinto from the sight tube 6. The inverted' rubber nipple 3 closes the top of chamber 5 and 30 is secured thereto by the press lit ring 2. This nipple, being of exible rubber, acts as a movable seal and prevents evaporation of the liquid. 'I'his nipple serves also in lieu of a vent although there may be employed avent, here shown as 35 closed by screw 4, when extreme accuracy is required. 4

That part of the gauge which is on the dash board is held in place by the rim 46. I

Sight tube 6 has its middle part covered by the 40 narrow blind 41 attached to the graduated scale 46 which is manually adjustable up or down. 'Ihis scale 46 is held in set position by frictional. en" gagement in groove 45 in whichit is slidably adjustable. 45

'I'he lower end of sight tube 6 is connecte-d to an intermediate passage 8 which in turn commu` nicates with the tube I 3. This intermediate passage 8 may bev restricted more or less by the adjustable screw 1. This intermediate passage is 50 enclosed partly by the diaphragm III which may be adjusted by the screw II bearing against the central part thereof. The adjustable screw I I is mounted in the arm 9 which is mounted upon the body I by means of screws 64. By adjusting screw about the outer surface of diaphragm I0, I have secured ring 1|! thereabout by means of screws the outer edge of diaphragm II). The cavity in body I just below passage 8, is such as to enable a column of liquid to pass regardless of the extent to which the diaphragm might be adjusted. That is to say, passage through this cavity will at no time be closed off by the diaphragm.

The lower end of the cavity that is closed by diaphragm I0, communicates with tube I3,the other end of which connects with a cavity I5 provided between plate I8 and casting I9 which are secured together by screws 20. One side of cavity I5 is closed by exible diaphragm I1 which has soldered to the central part of the opposite side thereof the plate 2| which is intended to .amplify the amount of flow of the liquid in the tube |3 for any given movement of the diaphragm I1.

Spring I6 is arranged between the central part of the diaphragm I1 and the plate I8 and tends to ensure positive return movement of the diaphragm I1 when its actuation towards the left (as viewed in Fig. 1) has been discontinued.

The triple threaded left-hand screw 3| -extends co-axially through the casting I9 and has operative engagement at its one end with the disk 2| and has screw thread engagement at its other end with the casting I9. A collar 22 is pinned to the shank of the screw 3| and affords an abutment for one end of coil spring 23 which abuts at lits other end against the casting I9. The purpose of spring 23 is to maintain constant tension between screw 3| and the interengaging threads on casting I9.

'I'he one end of screw 3|, which extends beyond casting I9, is hollowed out so as to receive the end portion of drive shaft 32. Upon this end portion of screw 3| there is xedly mounted the collar 25 by means of the set screw 24, this collar having operative engagement with the collar 21 which is fixedly mounted upon shaft 32 by means of set screw 26. A screw 28 is anchored in collar 25 and extends freely through an opening 69 in collar 21, the coil spring 29 surrounding screw 28 and abutting the collar 21 and the head of screw 28. Opening 69 is suiciently large to permit the operation herein described.

Rotation of shaft 32 in one direction will cause collar 21 to engage spring 29 which in vturn is engaged against head of screw 28 so as to cause turning of collar 25 and the screw 3|, which is thereby given an axial movement for actuation of the diaphragm I1. In other words, collar 25 and screw 3| virtually turn with shaft 32. Such movement of screw 3| continues until the collar 25 abuts the shoulder of casting I9, whereupon further movement of screw 3| and diaphragm |1 is prevented. Any excess movement of shaft 32 beyond this point will be absorbed by'compression of spring 29, and in this way, there is prevented any undue movement of the diaphragm I1. Thus, this constitutes a. safety provision. When the shaft returns to normal condition-the parts constituting this safety device will also return to normal position.

'I'he other lend of shaft 32 is fastened between clamps 33 and 68 which are held 'together by screws 34. Hinge member 36 has pivotal connection with clamp memberby means of pin 35 and with'the main support 38 therefor by If desired, white lead may b e used to seal `55 to the'rear axle housing 58.

'aisance means of pin 31. The support 38 is clamped to the axle 51 by means of set screws 39. 'I'he purpose of this hinge connection together with stiff spring I4 is to take up the forward and backward motion caused by shock and thus protect the gauge actuating mechanism from such shock.

The torque tube 44 is adapted to extend through yoke 43 which is fitted thereto.

Referring to Fig. '7, there is illustrated the complete assembly of the gauge with torque tube and radius rods (see Fig. 1). In Fig. '1, there are also indicated the front axle 51 and rear axle housing 58.

In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a complete assembly in which the gauge is connected in a manner somewhat different from that shown in Fig. 7, the manner of assembly in Fig. 8 being intended for automobiles that have no torque tubes or radius rods to which the diaphragm can be conveniently attached. In Fig. 8, there provided a second drivel shaft 52 which is connected by the universal coupling 53 to the shaft 54 which in turn is connected by bracket The bracket 5I has its upper end clamped onto cross memb'er 56 on the chassis 61. The lower end of bracket 5I has a bearing to support drive shaft 52 which is fixedly connected to the diaphragm assembly by means of set screw 50.

Instead of the hinge means illustrated in other figures of the drawing for relieving the shaft 32 from longitudinal shock, there may be employed another form of device for this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. In this modification,y there is a U-shaped spring 59 which has its one end aiiixed to the front axle 51 by means vof screw 6I while the other end` of this spring is apertured so as to receive the one end of shaft 32 which is secured thereto by means of nuts 60 on the shaft 32, these onto the shaft 32 and engaging spring 59.

In order to prepare the nipple 3 is removed so as device with the liquid and the screw 4I! is also removed so as to supply an air vent. As the liquid is vsupplied into container s, 1t win m1 the chamber of diaphragm I1, whereupon the screw 40 is replaced. The liquid will then fill opposite sides of gauge for operation,

tube I3, the chamber adjoining diaphragm I0,

passage 8, and sight tube 6. Then the height of the liquid in the sight tube 6 may be regulated by adjustment of screw so as to bring the liquid level to the middle of the sight tube. Nipple 3 is then replaced and is hermetically sealed by the ring 2.

Thus, it will be seen that my gauge is operatively connected to the front and rear axles of the automobile so as to be responsive to the tilting movement of an axle caused by the deflation of a tire and the consequent prolonged lowering of that end of the axle. 'I'his tilting movement of an axle is renderedeflective -in actuating the gauge' by virtue of the particular nuts being threaded o to permit filling the location and manner of connection of the gauge mechanism. By locating the gauge mechanism -in the vertical, middle longitudinal plane of the automobile, the tilting movement of the axle is 5 converted into a rotary movement of the operating shaft of the gaugeI mechanism. 4'Ihis rotary movement in turn is converted into a longitudinal movement by means of the lscrew means and the resulting longitudinal movement isA utilized to l0 actuate a flexible diaphragm which determines the level of a column' of liquid in a sight tube on thedash board of the automobile.

` When all four tires are equally inated, the diaphragm will not be actuatedA as the axleswill be level except for uneven portions in the road. Any unevenness in the road, however, will not affect the liquid in the sight tube as the needle valve ii is adjusted so as to slow up the movement of the liquid column and thereby keep the level of liquid in the sight tube practically sta-'- tionary under such condition. The flexibility of diaphragm il will take up any such disturbance that might be caused by ainevenn'ess in the road' surface.

If the front right tire should become deilated. the shaft 32 will rotate to the right. as viewed by the driver, the screw 3| being a left-hand thread, and the diaphragm I1 is thereby actuated rearwardly so as to raise the level of the liquid in the sight tube accordingly.

If the front left tire should become deflated, the level of the liquid in the sight tube will be lowered, since the diaphragm i1 will be moved in the opposite or forward direction. j 35iV In the cases of tire rear tires, the diaphragm i i1 will be actuated in the same manner'so as to vary the liquid level in the sight tube. When one of the rear tires becomes deflated. the diaphragm il and the plate i8 and casting IS will be rotated 40 'about the axis of shaft 32 which remains stationary with the screw 3|.

For instance, if the right rear tire should bevcome deiiated, the level of the column of liquid will be lowered as in thecase of the left front tire becoming deated. And the deflation of the left rear tire will affect the column of liquid in the same manner as the deflation of the right` In my device, the diaphragm and triple thread' screw are so sensitive that a variation of only ,three or four pounds pressure in a tire -will be indicated in the sight tube on the dashboard.

Although my device is responsive to very slight variations in pressure of air in the tires, itis at the same time'accurate and dependable on all kinds of roads including dirt roads, cobble ston roads, and roads with high crowns.` f

Depressions and bumps in the road `will not affect the accuracyA and dependability of this device when the automobile is travelling at a rate of speed of ten miles per hour or faster, as the two wheels on the same side of the automobile follow the same track, and the tendency of the tilting of the one axle to produce an indication in one direction in the sight tube will be olf-set lto any vehicle which might'be adapted for the same.

What I claim is:

l. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, com- `prising an l indicator means, shaft means so mounted in relation to an axle of the automobile as to be responsive to the tilting of an axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, .and operative means of connection between said vsecond-named means and said indicator means 'for transmitting an im- Y pulse to said indicator means only in response to prolonged unbalanced conditionvof opposite tires.A

2. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire'with respect to deflation, comprising an 4indicator means, rotatable means so mounted in relation to an axle of the automobile as to be responsive to the tilting of the axle causedA by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, and operative means of connection for transmitting an impulse to said indicator means only in response to prolonged unbalanced condition of opposite tires.

3. A device for indicating the c ondition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, shaft neans so mounted in relation to the front and rear axles of an automobile as to be responsive to the tilting of an axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, and operative means of connection between said secondnamed means and said indicator means for transmitting an impulse to said indicator means only mobile as to be responsive to the tilting of anv axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, and operative means'of connection between said secondnamed means and said indicator means for transmitting an impulse to said indicator means only in response to prolonged unbalanced condition of opposite tires, and universal connecting means in said second-named means.

5. A. device for indicating the condition of an automobile; tire with respect to deflation. com'- prising means for indicating degrees of deflation, means so mounted in relation tov an axle of the automobile as to b`e responsive to the tilting of thev axle caused by the unbalanced' condition of opposite tire'swith respect to deflation. and means for transmitting an impulse to said indicating means only in response toprolonged unbalanced condition of opposite tires. 6. A device for indicating the condition of an automobiletire with `respect to deilation,'com prising an indicator means, means so mounted in relation to an axle of the automobile as to be responsive to the tilting `of the axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, means for transmitting an impulse to said indicator means only in response to a prolonged unbalanced condition ofopposite tires. and a flexible connection between tle axle and the said means alxed thereto and at the end thereof opposite to said indicator means.

' 7. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deilation, comprising an indicator means, and shaft means, so mounted in relation to anaxle of the automobile as to be responsive to the tilting of the axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deflation, for actuating said indicator means, said actuating means including means for delaying the transmission of actuating impulses whereby said actuating means is responsive only to the prolonged tilting of the axle.

8. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, and means, so mounted in relation to an axle of the automobile as to be responsive to the tilting of the axle caused by the unbalanced condition of opposite tires with respect to deiiation, for actuating said indicator means, said actuating means including means for delaying the transmission of actuating impulses whereby said actuating means is responsive only to the prolonged tilting of the axle, and means for adjusting said delaying means so as to regulate the responsiveness of the actuating means to the tilting of the axle.

9. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, com-l prising an indicator means, shaft means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said shaft means and said indicator means, and means for restricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation' of said shaft means.

10. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, means responsive to' the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means oi connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, the parts of said operative means of connection being in constant engagement with each other, and means for restricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means.

11. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, means for restricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means, and means for preventing transmission of longiv tudinal shock to said responsive means.

12. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, diaphragm and screw means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, and means forrestricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means.

13. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deiiation, comprising a visible liquid type of indicator means, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, and means for restricting operation o! said indicator means to only prolonged actuation vof saidresponsive means.

15. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, means for restricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means, and means for amplifying the eiect of said responsive means upon said indicator means.

16. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, and adjustable means for restricting the operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of' said responsive means.

17. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deilation, comprising an indicator means of the visible liquid type including a container for the liquid thereof and a flexible nipple serving as a closure for said container, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, and operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means.

18'. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means, means responsive to the tilting of an axle ofthe automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicator means, means for restricting operation of said indicator means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means, and yieldable means included in said responsive means for absorbing excess movement thereof.

19. A device for indicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising an indicator means of the visible liquid type, a sight means for the liquid, means responsive to the Atilting of an axle of the automobile,l operative means of connection between .said responsive means and said indicator means,

and an adjustable valve for regulating the amount of flow of the liquid in the sight means.

20. A device fcrindicating the condition of an automobile tire with respect to deflation, comprising means for indicating degrees of deflation, means responsive to the tilting of an axle of the automobile, operative means of connection between said responsive means and said indicating means, the parts of said operative means of connection being in constant engagement with each other, and means for restricting operation of said indicating means to only prolonged actuation of said responsive means.

OSCAR THEODORE NELSON. 

